


Adjustments

by BunniesofDoom



Series: Eye for an Eye [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of alcohol, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Ruby Rose (RWBY) has PTSD, Volume 5 (RWBY), as a treat, the kids can have a little communication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:14:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Haven is full of surprises.
Relationships: Jaune Arc & Ruby Rose, Lie Ren & Ruby Rose, Oscar Pine & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose & Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose & Team RJNR
Series: Eye for an Eye [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039609
Kudos: 43





	Adjustments

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to Eye for an Eye.

Qrow talks for a long time, long enough for the sun to set and evening to fall. All of it seems impossible, talk of gods and monsters and maidens and magic, but Qrow is as serious as Ruby has ever seen him, and he wouldn't lie about something like this.

So, Ruby believes him, and she says as much. That doesn't mean that it's easy to hear. Jaune is angry, especially about the parts that relate to Pyrrha, and Ruby doesn't exactly blame him.

Still, she tries to maintain the peace. They need to be able to work together now, if the threat that they're facing is as serious as Qrow is making it out to be.

Especially if there's going to be an attack on Haven. Ruby has already lost her school; she's not going to let another get destroyed if there's anything she can do to stop it.

"What about the school? We have to warn them!" Nora exclaims, echoing her thoughts.

"I'm sure the headmaster is already aware that his school might be in danger, and he'll have taken some of the necessary precautions." Qrow assures them. "Plus, I don't know if you kids have noticed, but it's a bit late to be heading over to the school right now." He gestures to the windows. It's well into evening at this point, and the sky outside is rapidly growing dark.

"Well, what should we do then?" Ruby asks. She hates the idea of sitting around doing nothing when they've just learned of the dangers out there waiting for them.

"I'm going to get a drink," Qrow announces. She pins him with an unimpressed stare. "You kids should eat dinner or something, get some more rest. We'll head over to visit the school when it's light out, and I'll introduce you to the headmaster, Professor Lionheart."

"Don't stay out too late!" Ruby calls after him.

With Qrow gone, they fall into silence. Ruby wonders if the others are as scared as she is, if they're as worried about Salem and Cinder and Tyrian. A little shudder runs through her at the thought of Tyrian in particular.

Finally, Ren breaks the silence. "I guess I can try to put something together to eat."

"Wait, before you go, there's something I need to tell you guys," Ruby announces, taking a deep breath to brace herself.

"What is it, Ruby?" Jaune asks, looking at her in concern.

"Please tell me you don't have more bad news!" Nora says. "I don't think I could handle any more at this point."

"No, it's nothing like that," Ruby reassures her. "It's just—I'm really sorry I dragged you guys into this. This is all my fault."

All three of them stare at her in confusion.

"Ruby, what are you talking about?" Ren asks.

"I—I shouldn't have asked you guys to come. I've put you all in so much danger, and I'm so sorry for everything that's happened."

"Ruby, you didn't drag us into anything!" Nora reassures her. "Besides, if we hadn't come with you, you would have faced this on your own, and that's just not right."

"But you guys didn't know, about Salem, and Tyrian and the maidens and—"

"Ruby." Jaune looks thoughtful. "You lost—we all lost Pyrrha." The four of them collectively flinch at the mention of their fallen friend's name, but Jaune collects himself again and carries on. "You lost Penny, and Beacon, and your team, and in a way, you lost your sister, too. But you're still here. You're still moving forward. If anything, we should be thanking you. You didn't drag us along, you gave us the courage to follow you."

Ruby can't bring herself to speak, so she just steps forward and hugs Jaune, burying her suspiciously wet face in his shoulder and sniffling quietly.

"Thank you," she mumbles, when she finally trusts herself to speak again.

"Oh yeah, group hug time!" Nora tackles the two of them into the couch.

"Nora, please refrain from breaking any of the furniture," Ren sighs. "And Ruby, we really should have thanked you sooner for inspiring us to keep moving forwards as well. None of us regret coming on this journey, I can assure you that."

"Thank you, Ren." Ruby gives him a watery smile, wiping her face on her sleeve. "I'm so grateful to all of you guys, really. There's no way I could have done this on my own."

"I really am going to cook dinner now."

"You should make pancakes!" Nora calls after him, scrambling up and abandoning her victims on the couch in favor of following him.

"Nora, we had pancakes for breakfast."

Ruby's plan for the evening is fairly simple: eat dinner, write a letter to her sister, to let her know how things are going, and turn in nice and early so she can be well rested for tomorrow.

The first two parts go without a hitch. Ren's cooking is delicious as always, and she finishes writing her letter to Yang and makes sure that it's ready to be mailed tomorrow. But it all falls apart after she climbs into bed.

She can't fall asleep. She tosses and turns and stares at the ceiling for hours, growing more and more frustrated by the minute. She's exhausted, so why can't she sleep?

When she does finally fall asleep, it's anything but peaceful. The old nightmares about Pyrrha and Penny and Yang losing her arm all make their appearances, but they're joined by a new one. In her dreams, Tyrian cackles wildly, and taunts her with the promise of taking her other eye. She jolts awake several times throughout the night, gasping for air and heart pounding.

She's not in a great mood by the time morning rolls around.

Ruby glowers at the coffee mug, sitting there innocently on the table. She reaches for the handle, simple enough—and misses, her fingers brushing empty air. Gritting her teeth, she forces herself not to growl in frustration.

Across from her, Jaune opens his mouth to offer to help—then immediately snaps it shut when he sees the murderous expression on her face.

Concentrating hard, she reaches for the cup again, this time paying careful attention to where her hand is in relation to the cup. She's rewarded with her fingers finally grasping the handle, and she brings the mug to her mouth to take a sip. The cup bumps against her chin awkwardly, but it's still less clumsy than her first few attempts.

The small success doesn't make her feel any better. If she's struggling this much with just grabbing a cup of coffee, how in the world is she going to manage when fighting Grimm?

Plus, if her stupid brain had just let her sleep last night, she wouldn't be having to drink this disgusting crap in the first place!

Trying to think about something more positive, she lets herself wonder what Haven Academy is like. Just when she's about to start wondering aloud where Qrow is, he pokes his head through the door. "You kids ready to head to the school?"

Nodding, she gets to her feet, abandoning the mug on the table with one last glare in its direction.

Maybe things will start looking up after they meet with the headmaster.

She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.

Their meeting with Professor Lionheart is less than helpful, and Qrow ditches them to go off drinking again. By the time they make their way back to the house, Ruby is frustrated and exhausted. She mails her letter to Yang and retreats back to her room to read a comic and hopefully calm down a little.

She's definitely not sulking, okay?

Of course, a girl can't even read in peace these days. Just as she's getting to the good part, she hears a commotion from downstairs. Sighing loudly, she puts down the comic and goes to check it out.

Nora better not be trying to redecorate again.

Whatever she was expecting, it definitely wasn't a farm boy and a very drunk (and very happy?) Qrow.

The unfamiliar boy turns to face Ruby. "You have silver eyes," he says, looking at her thoughtfully.

Ruby backs away a step, entire body going tense. Before, it was just an odd comment people occasionally made when they met her, but after running into Tyrian, it makes her feel uncomfortable. Hunted. It feels like a threat.

Who is this guy, and what does he want?

"My name is Oscar Pine, but you probably know me better as Professor Ozpin."

. . . What?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you enjoyed it.
> 
> The kids can have a little communication, as a treat.
> 
> Trying to find the balance between not repeating large chunks of canon while also not just being boring and summarizing everything, so hopefully this turned out well! I'm planning on including the RYW reunion in the next part, which tbh I have been looking forwards to doing since I came up with the idea. I've been wanting to do a Ruby and Yang reunion fic for a while now so I'm feeling pretty hyped. Ruby's struggles with the cup are based on the google research I did about how this type of injury would affect her.


End file.
